I think the part of the article the headline was referring to is at th bottom where it says something like the Saudis will also be employing new technology in extraction and could just as easily increase their production.

It's true, there is LOTS of oil and gas yet to be exploited in North America, but don't be so quick to hop into Grandma's 1976 Lincoln with the 460 cube engine.

Fact is that the "easy" oil is all gone.....not very many "gushers" left out there to find. The oil/gas we've got now is locked up in tar sands/rock. It takes a lot more processing to extract the stuff which means it's going to be more expensive. Bottom line: You can have all the gasoline you want.......@ $5/gal.

3. Understand that doing #1 and #2 means money for research and development, whether it is from the private sector or the government, and we can't slack off in either department. Yes, that might mean more oil rigs off shore. Yes, that means you get used to not having incandescent bulbs.

It's easy to say, harder to do, but we must do it or suffer the consequences.

Fracking our way to energy "independence" and environmental catastrophe! As usual, the media ignored the science and used the executive summary to paint a rosy picture. But the science says maybe, but don't bet your lunch money yet.

The report backs up what neocons have been saying about "peak oil" for years... that it won't happen, unless we abandon capitalism for socialism and let the supreme authorities create an artificial, "political peak oil" out of media hype to keep the population in a compliant state of panic.

/of course, that just means history needs to be rewritten to say it was the neocons pushing "peak oil" and the environmentalists who knew all along it was a lie//had several co-workers tell me last week that Ronald Reagan was a Democrat, complete with videotaped "proof" in the form of all his speeches where he called himself a leader of the "blue states"///funny how even just reversing two colors can lead to historical revision... the media are already our unelected overlords, nothing left to do but welcome them

Tatterdemalian:The report backs up what neocons have been saying about "peak oil" for years... that it won't happen, unless we abandon capitalism for socialism and let the supreme authorities create an artificial, "political peak oil" out of media hype to keep the population in a compliant state of panic.

/of course, that just means history needs to be rewritten to say it was the neocons pushing "peak oil" and the environmentalists who knew all along it was a lie//had several co-workers tell me last week that Ronald Reagan was a Democrat, complete with videotaped "proof" in the form of all his speeches where he called himself a leader of the "blue states"///funny how even just reversing two colors can lead to historical revision... the media are already our unelected overlords, nothing left to do but welcome them

Behold, Farkers: The rare post that manages to include strawmen, BSABSVR, and logical fallacy all in one. Well done.

fringedmyotis:Behold, Farkers: The rare post that manages to include strawmen, BSABSVR, and logical fallacy all in one. Well done.

Mock all you want, the economy will continue to be mysteriously sabotaged by conservatives until someone grows up and realizes the conservatives have nothing to do with the failure of liberal policies at all.

/in fact, they're the only ones that are protecting liberals from their own destruction//that's why for every conservative you destroy, a hundred more obstacles keep mysteriously arising out of nothingness to ruin your plans///and also why conservatives can't accept the left's surrender even when they offer it... they didn't cause the economic sabotage in the first place, so they can't make it stop

The unadulterated fact is that the supply of oil is finite. Laid down millions of years ago, it's not been replenishing itself.

We may have X billions of gallons in the ground yet, but once it's gone, that's it.

50 years ago, no one considered the impact that developing nations would have on the consumption as they worked to increase their standard of living. Just as no one expected water shortages in assorted states until their populations exploded.

Florida is an excellent example. Between 1960 and now, including a big drive to attract a bigger residential population, the population has more than tripled, creating a never expected water shortage in many areas and problems like an increase of sink holes, the destruction of wild lands which helped replenish the water and the discovery that the state actually depends on much of it's water coming through cave systems from other states.

Around the 70's, there was a huge push by the automotive industry to sell cars to nearly every member of a family. Where, in the 50's, an average family might have one car, by the 70's, that increased to around three and, shortly after, along came gas powered toys, like ATVs, dirt bikes, boats the size of portable ocean liners and personal water craft.

At the same time, more and more homes included electric air conditioners, more lights, more fans, much more electronics and a host of gas powered yard tools. In colder areas, winter heat systems were developed to push hot water through tubes sealed into the floor, heating units for swimming pools became more popular and personal and public night time lighting just exploded.

So, as the decades have passed, the consumption of fossil fuel based power has gone up far faster than expected.

Even with more efficient engines and electronics, the demand remains high and will continue to do so.

Unfortunately, if the public gets lulled into complacency by reports of new oil fields and the promise of somewhat cheaper gas prices, they'll do as they always have done: start using more.

Plus a positive spin on oil availability will undoubtedly slow the development of efficient and reliable alternative energy sources.

So, basically, don't get too comfortable with reports of vast new oil resources, because (1) they have limited capacity also, (2) third world nations are rapidly becoming consumers of larger volumes of fuel as they upgrade, (3) much of the global economy is now based on the cost of crude by the barrel and (4) the global population is exploding.

We may develop a car that gets 100 mpg, but then gas will be $10.00 per gallon. Look how fast cheap diesel fuel rose in price and how equally as fast, the cost of biofuels made from used grease and oil.

Decades ago, the push for development in Florida was a good thing. Now, it's an expensive, resource draining, ecological nightmare. Ample, cheap land is gone and resources are consumed faster than ever thought.

I know I'd be willing to put up with $5 a gallon if we got to depend less on the Saudis. Cutting off all economic ties and not caring what happens to the region would be nice. (except for Israel and maybe Iraq).

3. Understand that doing #1 and #2 means money for research and development, whether it is from the private sector or the government, and we can't slack off in either department. Yes, that might mean more oil rigs off shore. Yes, that means you get used to not having incandescent bulbs.

It's easy to say, harder to do, but we must do it or suffer the consequences.

Another key part of #2 is a nation-wide power grid. While the east coast is waking up, power from west coast plants could help handle the peak, and the reverse being true when the west starts cooking their dinner. I've seen estimates where the total power being generated could go down by around 10% by just taking advantage of our time zone geography. Unfortunately, there is no "free market" motivation to do it...so you have to fight the whole "but government owned power grid=socialism" crap.